Walk into any Singapore coffee shop and someone's talking about AI. ChatGPT this, AI automation that, machine learning everything.

You're wondering: which of these tools actually help run a small business? And which ones are just hype?

I'll save you the research. Here's what actually works.

For writing and content (everyone needs this)

ChatGPT Plus

What it does: Helps you write emails, social media posts, product descriptions, blog drafts, meeting summaries.

Cost: $20/month

Worth it if: You write a lot. Emails, social posts, content, anything.

How Singapore businesses use it:

Draft email responses to customers
Write product descriptions for online shops
Create social media captions
Summarize long documents or meetings
Brainstorm marketing ideas

Real example: A boutique owner uses it to write Instagram captions. Used to take 15 minutes, now takes 2 minutes. She gives ChatGPT the photo and main point, it writes 3 caption options, she picks and edits one.

Honest review: Best $20/month you'll spend. Makes writing faster and less painful.

Claude (what we use)

What it does: Similar to ChatGPT but better at long documents and detailed analysis.

Cost: $20/month for Pro

Worth it if: You deal with contracts, reports, or long documents.

How to use it: Upload a 50-page contract, ask "what are the key terms?" Get a summary in 2 minutes instead of reading for an hour.

When to use Claude vs ChatGPT: ChatGPT for quick stuff. Claude for deep analysis and long content.

For design and visuals

Canva with AI features

What it does: Creates graphics, social media posts, presentations, logos, basically any visual content.

Cost: Free version works. Pro is $13/month for AI features.

Worth it if: You need graphics regularly and can't afford a designer.

AI features that actually help:

Magic Resize (make one design fit all social media sizes)
Background Remover (remove background from product photos)
Magic Write (AI writes your social post copy)
Text to Image (type what you want, get an image)

Real example: A cafe creates their daily specials poster in 5 minutes. Types "iced latte special $5" and AI generates 10 design options. Pick one, post it. Done.

Honest review: The free version is already great. Pay for Pro if you're making content daily.

Midjourney / DALL-E

What it does: Creates custom images from text descriptions.

Cost: Midjourney $10-60/month, DALL-E pay per image

Worth it if: You need unique images for marketing and stock photos don't cut it.

What works: Abstract concepts, backgrounds, social media graphics, mood boards.

What doesn't work: Photos of your actual products, professional headshots, anything needing to look perfectly real.

Reality: Most small businesses don't need this. Canva + stock photos work fine.

For customer service

Tidio (simple chatbot)

What it does: Adds a chat widget to your website. Can auto-respond to common questions.

Cost: Free for basic. $29-399/month for AI features.

Worth it if: You get questions on your website but can't respond immediately.

How it works: Someone asks "what are your hours?" The AI bot replies instantly with your hours. More complex questions go to you.

Real example: An online store uses it. After hours, the bot answers simple questions. Next morning, owner sees complex questions and responds.

Honest review: Good starting point for chatbots. If you need something more powerful, build custom AI chatbot.

Zendesk AI

What it does: AI-powered customer support ticketing and automation.

Cost: $55-115/month per agent

Worth it if: You're getting 100+ support requests per week.

Too expensive for most small businesses: Only worth it when you have a real support team.

For email marketing

Mailchimp with AI

What it does: Email marketing with AI helping write emails and predict best send times.

Cost: Free up to 500 contacts. Then $13-350/month.

Worth it if: You have an email list and send regular newsletters.

AI features:

Subject line optimizer (suggests better subject lines)
Send time optimization (picks best time to send)
Content suggestions (based on what similar businesses send)

Real example: A tuition center sends weekly updates to parents. AI suggests when to send (Tuesday 7pm gets highest opens). Helps write subject lines that get more clicks.

Honest review: The AI features are nice but not game-changing. Use Mailchimp for email marketing, AI features are bonus.

Buffer / Hootsuite with AI

What it does: Schedule social media posts, AI suggests best times and helps write captions.

Cost: $6-120/month depending on how many accounts

Worth it if: You manage multiple social media accounts.

Reality: Most small businesses don't need this. Just use ChatGPT to help write captions and post manually.

Pay for these tools when social media is a major part of your business.

For scheduling and admin

Calendly

What it does: Lets people book time with you automatically. No back-and-forth emails.

Cost: Free for basic. $10-16/month for better features.

Worth it if: You book a lot of meetings or appointments.

How it works: Send someone your Calendly link. They see your available times. They pick one. It goes in both calendars automatically.

Real example: A consultant used to spend 2 hours per week coordinating meeting times. Now: "book time here [link]." Done.

Honest review: Not AI, but saves tons of time. Essential for service businesses.

For data and analytics

Microsoft Power BI with AI

What it does: Turns your data into charts and insights. AI finds patterns.

Cost: Free version limited. Full version $10-20/month.

Worth it if: You have lots of data (sales, customers, inventory) and want to understand it better.

Reality: Overkill for most small businesses. A good Excel spreadsheet works fine until you're bigger.

For accounting (sort of AI)

Xero / QuickBooks

What it does: Accounting software with smart categorization (uses AI to learn how you categorize expenses).

Cost: $15-70/month

Worth it if: You're still using Excel for accounting. Stop. Use proper software.

AI features: Learns how you categorize transactions and does it automatically. Suggests invoice details based on past invoices.

Honest review: The "AI" is basic but helpful. Main value is having proper accounting software, AI is bonus.

For productivity

Notion AI

What it does: Note-taking and organization with AI that can summarize notes, write first drafts, translate.

Cost: $10/month on top of Notion subscription

Worth it if: You already use Notion and want writing help.

Real example: Meeting notes get auto-summarized into action items. Project briefs get drafted by AI then you edit.

Honest review: Nice to have, not essential. ChatGPT can do most of this.

AI tools NOT worth it for small businesses

Advanced analytics platforms ($500+/month)

You don't have enough data yet for these to be worth it.

Enterprise AI assistants ($1000+/month)

You're not enterprise. You're small business. Don't pay enterprise prices.

Custom AI models from scratch ($50k+)

Unless AI is literally your product, you don't need this.

AI voice assistants for business

Still clunky. Not ready yet for most businesses.

The smart approach: Start here

Month 1: Free/cheap tools

ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) for writing
Canva Free for graphics
Try Tidio free plan for website chat

Total cost: $20/month

See if AI actually helps your business.

Month 2-3: Add if useful

If AI is helping, add:

Canva Pro ($13/month) if making lots of graphics
Paid chatbot if getting good leads from it
Email marketing with AI if you have a list

Total cost: $50-100/month

Month 4+: Custom solutions

If you're spending 10+ hours per week on repetitive tasks and off-the-shelf AI isn't enough, consider custom AI automation.

But only after you've tried the cheap tools first.

Singapore-specific considerations

Multi-language support

Most AI tools work best in English. If you need Chinese, Malay, or Tamil support, options are limited.

ChatGPT: Decent with Chinese, okay with Malay

Canva: English only for AI features

Custom chatbots: We can build with multi-language support, but it costs more

Local payment methods

Some AI tools only accept credit cards. No PayNow or bank transfer. Plan accordingly.

Data privacy

Check where your data is stored. Some tools store in US, some in Singapore. Matters if you handle sensitive customer data.

Under PDPA, you're responsible for customer data even if it's in an AI tool's database.

Real cost breakdown for a typical small business

Let's say you run a small retail shop or service business in Singapore.

Essential AI tools:

ChatGPT Plus: $20/month (writing help)
Canva Pro: $13/month (graphics)
Basic chatbot: $29/month (website)

Total: $62/month = $744/year

Time saved: Roughly 5-8 hours per week

Value: If your time is worth $30/hour, that's $150-240/week = $7,800-12,480/year

ROI: Spend $744, save $7,800+. Yeah, worth it.

Optional additions:

Better email marketing: $20/month
Scheduling tool: $10/month
Better chatbot: $200/month

Only add these if they solve real problems you have.

Warning signs you're wasting money on AI

You bought it but never use it: Cancel it. Don't pay for tools you don't open.

It doesn't save you time: If a tool doesn't save at least 1 hour per week, it's probably not worth $50/month.

You're paying for features you don't need: Most tools have cheap and expensive versions. Start cheap.

You bought it because everyone else has it: Buy tools that solve YOUR problems, not because they're trendy.

Getting custom AI built

If off-the-shelf tools don't do what you need, that's when custom AI development makes sense.

When to consider custom:

You need it to integrate with your specific systems
Your process is unique to your business
You're spending 10+ hours per week on something that could be automated
Off-the-shelf tools can't handle your requirements

Typical costs: $10,000-30,000 for custom AI solutions

Timeline: 6-12 weeks to build

Worth it when: The time saved justifies the cost within 12 months.

The bottom line

Start with ChatGPT Plus ($20/month). Use it for a month. If it helps, keep it.

Add Canva Pro if you make graphics often.

Add a simple chatbot if your website gets questions.

That's it. Don't overthink it.

Most small businesses don't need fancy expensive AI tools. They need simple tools used consistently.

Want help figuring out which AI tools would actually help YOUR specific business? Talk to us. We'll give you honest recommendations, not a sales pitch.

About &7: We build custom AI solutions for Singapore businesses, but we also tell you when you don't need custom and should just use existing tools. Honest advice beats making a sale.